Five minutes with Julie Carlson of Remodelista

Home & Garden

Five minutes with Julie Carlson of Remodelista

If exposed beams, whitewashed wood and a disciplined palette sound like the formula for your dream digs, you're in good company. That's the esthetic of Remodelista.com, one of the web's most influential sources of inspo for DIY decorators, Julianne Moore and Diane Keaton among them. Having cofounded the site, Julie Carlson also lives the look: Her family home outside of San Francisco is a study in back-to-basics chic and budget-minded minimalism.

Julie Carlson: "Simplicity. My coffee table [above] is a great example. It's a solid walnut desktop that my husband and I found in a secondhand store, and it's propped up on concrete blocks, one under each corner. I meant to have legs made for it, but I grew to love how casual and humble it looked as is, and it's turned into a signature piece in our living room."

BW: What's the key to mixing high and low price points?

JC: "It's less about the individual pieces and more about having an overall scheme and being consistent in that vision. It helps if you keep your palette contained. And if you develop a good eye, you can see beauty in really humble things."

BW: Where do trends fit into your designs?

JC: "It can be really fun to experiment with trends, but I'm more interested in investing in classics that won't look dated in five years. I'm already over that owl motif, for instance. If I never see another one again, I'll be happy."

#FridayFive: Madonna on Carpool Karaoke, holiday gift ideas for the pet-obsessed and more fun things to do this weekend

Culture & Entertainment

#FridayFive: Madonna on Carpool Karaoke, holiday gift ideas for the pet-obsessed and more fun things to do this weekend

Do
Check out the cutest holiday gift ideas for the pet-obsessed person in your life.

SeeGord Downie's emotional reaction when the Assembly of First Nations honours him with an Indigenous spirit name, Wicapi Omani (meaning "man who walks among the stars") for his reconciliation efforts.

WatchManchester By The Sea. It's an emotional drama starring Michelle Williams and Casey Affleck, about a man who becomes the guardian of a 16-year-old after the child's father dies.

Read
Joseph Boyden's novella Wenjack—the tragic story of an Objibwe boy who runs away from his residential school.

Hear
Madonna sings some classics, vogues and kisses-and-tells about locking lips with Michael Jackson when she joins James Corden for the latest Carpool Karaoke.

Baking & Desserts

Our best muffin recipes

Whip up a dozen moist muffins on a leisurely Sunday morning. Or better yet, set out the muffin recipe ingredients the night before and let the first person up bake a batch for everyone. Most of these muffin recipes can be made in advance and frozen.

Pattern Notes: Twisted rib stitch (worked over an even number of stitches): Row 1 and Row 2: *K1 tbl, p1 tbl* repeat to end of row. Repeat Rows 1 and 2.

Casting on: The Honey Stitch Cowl is cast on using the provisional cast on, which leaves the cast-on stitches "live." Because they're "live" and not closed off as with a regular cast on, we can later pick them up and seam them together with the stitches on the needle. There are several ways to work the provisional cast on. My favourite method involves using a crochet hook and a scrap piece of yarn to make a crochet chain. The cast on stitches are then knitted directly onto the crochet chain, which acts as a holder for the cast on stitches. Once you've finished your cowl you can unravel the crochet chain, which reveals the "live" cast on stitches. These are then picked up on a needle and seamed together with the other stitches on your needle using the three-needle bind off.

Three-needle Bind Off: This bind off joins two sets of "live" stitches together in a neat, secure seam. As the name suggests, it requires three needles: one needle holds the cast on stitches, the other holds the stitches at the end of the cowl, and the third needle is used to knit the stitches on both needles in order to bind them off into a seam.

• With the two needles clapped together and the right sides of the cowl facing each other, insert the third needle into the first stitch on the needle closest to you as if to knit. Insert the third needle into the first stitch on the needle in the back. There are now two stitches on the third needle. Bring the working yarn around the third needle as if to knit and bring the yarn through both stitches on both needles. * There is now one stitch on the third needle. â€¨â€¨Repeat the instructions between * and * until you have two stitches on the needle. Then, using your fingers or one of the needles holding the stitches, bring the first stitch on the third needle over the second stitch. One stitch has been bound off. â€¨â€¨Continue to knit one stitch through two stitches on your needles and bind off on the third needle until you have one stitch left on your third needle. Cut the yarn and weave through the last stitch. Notice that you have created a nice, sturdy seam that joins your cast on stitches with the last stitches on your cowl.

Row 2 (right side): Sl1 knitwise, *p1 tbl, k1 tbl* repeat until you reach 1 st before the first marker, p1 tbl, sm. *Slip 1 st to DPN and hold in back, k1, k the st from the DPN. Slip next st to DPN and hold in front, k1, k the st from DPN* repeat until you reach the second marker, sm. *P1 tbl, k1 tbl* repeat to end of row.

Row 3 (wrong side): repeat Row 1.

Row 4: (right side): Sl1, *p1 tbl, k1 tbl* repeat until you reach 1 st before the first marker, p1 tbl, sm. *Slip 1 st to DPN and hold in front, k1, k the st from DPN. Slip next st to DPN and hold in back, k1, k the st from DPN* repeat until you reach the second marker, sm. *P1 tbl, k1 tbl* repeat to end of row.

Note about yarns: Unfortunately, KPC Yarn is only available online. It's stocked in a retail store in Hong Kong. However, there are a number of other yarn options for Canadians; look for a chunky weight yarn. Berroco Vintage Chunky and Debbie Bliss Rialto Chunky are very similar to the KPC chunky in gauge. Alternatively, consult your local yarn store.

Davina Choy reluctantly picked up knitting at 14, under the instruction of a family friend. Learn how an afternoon of knitting turned into a lifelong passion for Choy.